Energy harvesting: Converting waste heat into electricity at the nanoscale

The efficient use of available energy sources is of increasing importance. I present our efforts to find an efficient and powerful nanoscale energy haverster which can be used on-chip to convert waste heat back into electricity. Inspired by Landauer’s blow-torch example which teaches that a hot spot even in a remote part of phase-space can shift populations away from what is expected from near equilibrium theory we discuss several implementations of on-chip structures that convert non-equilibrium noise to electrical current. This leads us to a nano-engine that is both powerful and efficient and can be scaled up to deliver enough to power a light bulb.